Ocimum × africanum
Lemon basil
Common names: Lemon-scented basil
At a glance
- Light
- Full sun
- Spacing
- 20 cm, rows 30 cm
- Lifespan
- Annual
- Sowing
- Apr–Jun
- Harvest
- Jun–Sep
- Hardiness
- Cold damage below 8 °C
- Water need
- High
Photo: Kembangraps · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
This description was machine-translated.
Description
Lemon basil, botanically Ocimum × africanum, is a cross between culinary basil and a tropical wild species. It grows bushy, reaching 30 to 40 cm in height, and bears narrow, pointed, light green leaves that are smaller than those of Italian basil. When the leaves are rubbed between the fingers, they release a clear lemon scent with a hint of basil underneath. Small white flowers appear from July to September. In the kitchen, it adds fresh citrus notes to fish and poultry, salads, dressings, quark, fruit salad, ice cream, and lemonade. The aroma is volatile, so the leaves are added just before serving. Like all basil, it needs warmth, and it does well on a sunny windowsill, a balcony, or a sheltered spot in the garden bed.
Care instructions
Place lemon basil in a warm, sunny, and wind-sheltered location. Plant out only after the Ice Saints in mid-May, when nights no longer drop below 10 °C; before that, plants stay small and develop spotted leaves. Water regularly in the morning at the roots and keep the foliage dry, since wet leaves encourage mildew, and do not let water stand in the saucer. Regularly pinch out shoot tips above a pair of leaves so the plant grows densely and stays tender for longer. Cut off flower buds as long as you want to harvest leaves. Turn the pot on the windowsill occasionally so it grows evenly. Slugs readily eat young plants; collecting them in the evening helps.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
SowingApr–Jun
HarvestJun–Sep
FloweringJul–Sep
Germination
- Soil temperature
- from 15 °C, ideally 24 °C
- Days to sprout
- 5 to 14 days
- Light
- Needs light to sprout
- Sowing depth
- Press in, don't cover
- How to start
- Start indoors, then plant out
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
humus-rich, well-drained, nutrient-rich
Lemon basil grows best in loose, humus-rich and warm soil that holds water but does not become waterlogged. In the bed, work in ripe compost before planting; in a pot, a good-quality herb compost with some sand suits it. On heavy, wet soils the root rots easily, so here a pot is the better choice. A drainage hole and a thin layer of gravel at the bottom of the pot keep the water moving.
Feeding
Medium feeder
Months
May–Aug
Lemon basil has a moderate nutrient requirement. In the bed, ripe compost worked in before planting is enough. In a pot the compost is used up faster: from June to August give a mild, organic liquid feed in the water every two to three weeks. If the plant is fed too richly, it grows soft and prone to mildew. From September, stop feeding.
Overwintering
Lemon basil is annual. Below about 10 °C it stops growing, the leaves become spotted to black, and frost ends the plant. In the bed, clear it away in autumn after the last harvest. Potted plants can be brought onto the bright, warm windowsill in September, where they still supply leaves for a few weeks. For seed, let individual flower spikes turn brown and rub out the seeds. If several basil varieties stand side by side, they cross, and the offspring then turn out differently.
Propagation
Methods
- From seed
- Cuttings
Raise lemon basil indoors from seed from April. The seeds germinate in light: scatter them on moist seed compost, press them down lightly and cover them at most with a very thin layer. At 20 to 25 °C they germinate after one to two weeks. Pot the seedlings on singly as soon as the first true pair of leaves has formed, and keep them bright and warm. From the end of May you can also sow directly in a warm bed. Cuttings are the quick alternative: put shoot tips 10 cm long without flowers in a glass of water, and after one to two weeks roots are there.
Companion planting
Good neighbors
nightshade family (Solanaceae)
particularly well establishedYou will find that basil next to tomato and pepper improves taste and keeps whiteflies and aphids away.
For example PotatoTomatoSweet pepperCocktail tomatoEggplantCape gooseberry and 14 more species in the catalogue
Source: classic companion planting (DACH-Gartenpraxis)
cabbage family (Brassicaceae)
You will notice that the intense scent of basil, thyme, and others confuses the cabbage whitefly and keeps it away from the cabbage family.
For example White cabbageKohlrabiRadishKalebroccolicauliflower and 41 more species in the catalogue
Source: bio-gardening intercropping practice
Companion planting is partly traditional gardening lore. Where the reason is known, it is given.
Some of these explanations were machine-translated.
For your garden
Grow Lemon basil yourself
Gartenkern tells you when frost is coming, when to sow and when to harvest, for your location.
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